Tales of the Forgotten
by Master of Chronicles
Summary: A man after revenge, a hero trying to find his place, a planet on the verge of ruin. Not even the lifestream can save them this time. Chap 3 up! Set post DOC
1. Chapter 1

A/N. I got this idea a short while back. Any comments on how good or bad it is will be welcome.

I do not own FFVII, but I want to.

Tales of the Forgotten

Chapter One

Twenty-odd years after Kadaj and his gang brought Sephiroth back and tried to destroy the planet, the world once again faced a crisis. But this was one where no heroes rose to save the populace. This crisis sunk entire continents below the oceans, cities with everyone in them were simply wiped out of existance by the use of terrible weapons. But this crisis hadn't originated with Jenova and her spwans, but with the dwellers of the planet themselves.

The new Shinra company, named the Shinro Organization, returned to harvesting Mako as their primary power source. They said it would only be temperary, that as soon as an abundant source of energy cold be found they would abandon using the planets life energy immediately. But no effort was put into looking for another source. The planet began dying again. A new resistance group rose to defend the planet, calling themselves The Saviors. Like Avalanche, they resorted to blowing up Mako reactors, making sure no one got hurt. But when Shinro began catching members of the resistance and executing them, the leader of the Saviors responded likewise, targeting barracks and public places. This soon lead to a full out war.

No one remembered exactly how, but a new technology was born during this crisis, one which focus was destruction. Shinro, lead by president Gerald, son of Rufus, used his new toy to blow up Edge in an effort to wipe out the rebels in one blow. But it didn't work. The resistance got a hold of the science of the new weapon and improved on it, blowing up the new capital city Solace. Eight millions innocent people died within a week, and more followed over the years. A decade later, both sides fractured due to internal conflicts, and now dozens of groups were fighting each other simply for survival.

One day, two members of the original resistance raced in their vechicles down a worn out, abandoned highway leading into Midgar. The couple were a man and a woman, he in a battle weary car, she on a thrity year old motorcycle. They were being pursued by a group of at least three vechicles.

"Any indication as to whether they are friendlies?" The man asked through his helmet radio.

The woman turned her head as far as possible before answering. "Not a clue. But it doesn't matter. Odds are they'll kill us for our fuel."

"We can't let them follow us into Midgar. We'll have to lose them." His hand went for a particualry large shotgun at his side.

"I'll take care of the first two." She said.

"Wait! Don't-"

But before the man could finish, the woman had already spun the motorcycle around. Her right hand went fot the hilt of a large katana strapped to her back. The first enemy car, catching sight of her, opened fire. She would've deflected the bullets, but they had terrible aim. Adjusting at the last second so as not to crash into them, she swung the sword at the windshield, and nearly cut the entire hood clean off.

The second swerved to avoid her, but she pulled out a heavy hand gun strapped to her thigh and blew out its tires. The third slammed its brakes and three leather clad men stepped out of the car. But her friend had turned around by this time and was shooting at them. The three guys jumped back in and sped off back to where they came. The young, dark haired, removed her helmet and gave her partner a wide smile, that is until he aimed his rifle at her and pulled the trigger. She froze at the sound of the firing bullet. A man behind her gave a quick cry as he was hit just before he was able to take a stab at the long-haired woman. Looking down at her attacker she realized he had been one of the drivers of the cars she destroyed. The others were getting out of their wrecked cars, armed with chains, bats, knives and guns.

The man and woman got back to back, weapons ready.

"I told you to wait." The man said, his helmet still on.

She beat her long, dark lashes at him innocently. "Oh? I didn't hear you."

Three minutes later the fight was over and they were off again.

Midgar had only gotten worse over the years. Many battles were fought there, some important, others not so much. Most of the buildings that survived the intial crisis with Meteor now laid in huge heaps of ruins. Most of the plate was rusted away now, the mako canon having fallen apart years ago. Only what laid underground remained more or less intact. The man parked his vehicle in front of an underground entrance, one that had originally been concealed during a time which was now named the Sephiroth Age. Now it laid open, like a large, gaping mouth leading to a dark underworld. He walked in without hesitation, she didn't feel the same about it.

"No."

He turned around, his helmet still on, masking his voice. "What is it?"

"You didn't think I'd remember, did you? This place is forbidden, no one can ever go in."

"Supersition."

"It's not when what lays inside there can kill the entire planet!"

The man sighed, reaching both hands up to his face and removed his helmet. His curly brown hair was matted down to his head and his thick goatee was heavy dark with his sweat.

"Marlene," he said calmly, "this has to be done."

"No Denzel, it doesn't. It's not worth the risk. Not even close."

"Well, you don't have to come. Stay here, do nothing as everything crumbles apart like our lives did. We have to act for the greater good…now."

"Not matter the cost?" Marlene asked, her grown up face hard with conflicting emotions.

The man who had once been sick with geostigma as a child looked at her in the eyes. "You've always trusted me. Why can't you do do now?"

Taking a step forward, Marlene pointed her finger at him. "Because over the last few years you went from a leader with principles to a man I barely know. Ever morning I wake up wondering who is that person lying next to me. I…don't have faith anymore, Denzel…in anyone."

Denzel's gaze fell downward. Her words had hit hard, much more than he thought they would. But he couldn't give way to self doubt, not at a time like this.

"Listen Marlene," he began, looking up at her.

But she wasn't listening. Marlene was looking down at her chest, a inch hole in her shirt, from which blood was seeping out of her body. She looked at him, her face pale.

"Denzel…" she whispered.

At that moment he realized a gunshot had gone off.

"NNOOOO!!!" Denzel roared, sprinting to catch her as she fell.

One of the surviving drivers had followed them more discreetly than he and his friends had before, wanting to avenge his fallen comrades. He quickly reajusted his rifle to shoot Denzel, but the latter managed to pull out his shotgun and fired first. When the forty year old man looked down at his childhood friend and soulmate, he could see it in her glazed eyes she was dead.

The last time Denzel had cried was over thirty years before that day. It had been a time that was so hard he never had any more tears to give. Not even the sight of Marlene's lifeless body made his eyes moist. But he cradled her body for a long time, long after the sun had set. Some time that night he laid her down to rest, turned to the underground entrance and walked in. As he went deeper and further into the abyss, he began to speak out loud.

"I will change everything, Marlene. I'll save the planet from this crisis, I'll save all the friends we have ever lost, and I'll save our family…"

After what felt like an entire life span, Denzel found what he was looking for. And there in the darkness of the place once known as Deep Ground he made a solumn vow.

"And I'll start by killing Cloud Strife!"

A/N. Like the ending? I do. Thanks for reviewing.


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N Here's for Natalie. This new crisis began a little over twenty years after AC. I admit I don't know how old Denzel is but I think ten to twelve years is safe. So add twenty years and he's in his thirties. Then add on another ten years because that's when Shinro and the Saviors splintered. So he would now be in his forties._

_Yes, Denzel has reddish hair. For some people, though, their hair darkens with age. I wanted to make a strong distinction between the young Denzel and older Denzel._

_Thank you for reviewing and asking questions. It will force me to explain things better as we go along. I'll try to update once a week or more. _

_Check out my other story at Crossover FFX-FF: Unlimited called "Realms of our lives."_

Tales of the Forgotten

Chapter 2

"Yes sir. That's right, sir. Yes. We got it completely covered, sir. Not one stone unturned. Tell you what, Tseng, we'll even turn every stone twice just for you. Hello? Helllloooooo?" Fire-haired Reno gave a quick shrug and flipped his cell phone shut. "Guess he hung up."

His partner in crime, the ever composed Rude, coolly looked around the dark room they found themselves in. They both knew they were in danger wandering the wrecked remains of once proud Midgar, but when the president wanted a secret laboratory run by scientific genius and madman professor Hojo found **yesterday,** no risk was too great. At the present time they were in the main skyscraper, the one which used to have the president's old office at the top floor.

Reno couldn't help but sigh fondly. "Good times, partner. The smell of the city, the bright lights that lit up every street corner, the bars, clubs, girls, pubs and girls. Not a care in the world except for a few explosions now and again, but still a great time."

"We didn't have to work as often back then." Rude remembered, the tall man wearing his shades even though they were mostly in the dark.

"Yeah, maybe because back then we had, like, twenty times more Turks!" The young man kicked something on the floor with his worn shoe, sending it skipping along the floor. "We're not even getting paid overtime for this. Come on, it's the weekend! I have places to go."

"A hot date?"

"Bet your life!" Reno grabbed his cell again. "Better call."

With practiced ease, slender fingers flew on the buttons and in no time it was ringing. "Hello? Hey, Yuffie, it's me. I can't come tonight. No, I love your chow-mien pork, but work is getting in the way. Could I come in late? How does 3 a.m sound like? No need to shout! Just tell your dad I'll reschedule. Alright, bye."

Pocketing his phone, it took a second for Reno to realize Rude was staring at him. "What?'

"Yuffie's dad? That's your date?"

"Heck no! It's not like that! He's teaching me some of those Wutai fighting skills. Maybe if I could kick butt a little better, chicks would dig me."

"What about the girl?"

"Who? Yuffie? Great cook, terrible person."

But the tall Turk was unconvinced.

"Tell you what, Rude. Come with me at the next class and meet the great Kisaragi master. You'll see what I'm talking about." The man suddenly grabbed his nose. "OH MY GAWD what is that unholy stink?"

"It's coming from in here."

Rude had opened a door and was looking inside, this time his sunglasses were off. It was completely dark, and neither of them could make anything out. They wanted to investigate, but the smell was too powerful. Reno pulled out a flashlight and turned it on. The beam of light revealed a floor full of messy papers, pencils and test tubes, a few desks, and layers upon layers of dust. It looked like one in a hundred rooms one could find at the abandoned city, except with one exception.

"Whazzat?" Reno pointed to the far corner.

"Looks like a tank full of water." Rude said, taking the light from his red-haired friend and walking in. "Looks like there's a body in it."

"Whoa, talk about u-g-l-y. Dude must've been stillborn, all those bony spikes and scaly skin. Like a freak collision with a porcupine and a swamp cobra."

"Hey! Did you see that?" Rude exclaimed.

"Huh?"

"It moved!"

"No, it didn't. That's your imagination going off. I mean the thing has been floating there for years. How could it possibly-"

Suddenly, with the sound of exploding glass and rushing fluids, the creature came to life.

xxxxxxxx

Cloud was riding Fenrir on the borders of Edge just before sunset at the end of a long day. He was looking forward to arrive home slightly ahead of schedule and having Tifa's friday night 'special' for dinner. His stomach just started to rumble in anticipation, then his phone went off.

"Yes? Strife delivery ser-"

"Cloud! Reeves here. Where are you?"

"Near Midgar. What's wrong?" Cloud immediately forgot about eating as he heard the man's tone.

"We need help. Reno and Rude have come across something nasty in Midgar. The last call we received was a priority one emergency message. Priority one means civilians are in danger. We…hold on a minute, they're calling again."

A few seconds later Reeves became livid. "It's heading for Edge! They couldn't contain it. Rude says it's about a three miles from town, moving like a demon. It should be just east of you. Can you see it?"

Automatically the young man looked to his left, catching sight of the city of ruins. It was hopeless to see anything that could be wandering in that chaotic maze, but innocent lives were on the line, he had to do whatever he could.

"Don't worry. I'll find it before it can hurt anyone."

"We're in your debt, my friend. We've had a lot of trouble lately and we're over taxed, but I'll get helicopters in the area as soon as I can. Hang in there!"

Cloud pulled hard to the left and lead Fenrir right off the freeway. For a moment he was soaring high in midair above the crumbling buildings and alleyways of the former slums. He landed roughly, but he built his bike to handle violent impacts, and he was soon roaring through the dirty streets in search of something he hadn't even seen yet. But he didn't wait long. Whatever it was found him.

In a second a blur came out of a dark corner and rammed into Fenrir, throwing Cloud clean off. Fenrir smashed through several walls before coming to a stop amongst a heap of rubble. The former mercenary hit the dirty street hard, but rolled onto his feet, and immediately caught sight at what had attacked him. The sight of it gave him a start.

Its shaped was humanoid, no doubt there. It stood on two feet, had two arms and hands, a head, a torso, and facial features. But the human resemblance ended there. The monster's body was covered in boney quills, ranging from three inches on it's arms, head and back of the neck , to on a couple of feet down the spine. Each hand had a row of lethal looking claws able to tear apart steel. And it's eyes…terrible eyes, deathly white with no irises. And as it hissed at him, Cloud could easily make out dagger like teeth. Only its belly was bare, the skin made of thick, bullet proof scales.

"I'm gonna need my sword." Cloud told himself.

The creature wasted no time in charging the young man, it's clawed hand grazing his cheek as Cloud barely managed to dodged. Cloud danced away from the blows, but it was hard. He wasn't dealing with an opponent trained in fighting. He was taking on a beast fighting with instinct. Lashing out with a kick, Cloud connected his heel to the creature's sternum, sending it to the ground.

The monster screamed in anger, bounding upright. It gave Cloud a mighty backhand to the side of the head, sending Cloud reeling to the ground. With dust in his eyes, Cloud blindly groped for anything he could use to fight with. Luckily his hands found a broken beam of wood. He quickly rose to his feet, still unable to see clearly, took a second to listen, guessed where the monster was and swung with all his might. If anything the sound of splintering wood told him he hit it.

He had hit it in the belly, bending it double. Cloud brought the beam crashing down, aiming for the head. But his stinging eyes failed him and Cloud swung wide. Realizing his miscalculation, Cloud jumped back to try and avoid a counter blow, but he was too slow. Strong claws lashed out at him, slashing though this shirt and flesh. It was a long gash, starting from the left side of his ribcage to his hip. The pain was like being hit with a whip. The monster tackled Cloud with a bear hug, but the experienced fighter slipped through the bone crushing grip and the creature tumbled face first to the ground.

Cloud used the time he bought to sprint for the bike, the sounds of the monster scrambling after him right in his ear. After only a few feet Cloud felt the vice-like grip of a hand around his ankle. After being flung through the air, the spiky haired young man hit a brick wall with a sickening crack. Cloud collapsed, his head was buzzing, his arms and legs numb, blind with pain. The creature's shadow loomed over him like an eclipse, its hoarse breath reeking of rot. All Cloud could do was close his eyes and wait.

But it never attacked. Thinking its foe was dead; it turned around and leapt unto the nearest rooftop. Lifting its head high, the monster bellowed in triumph then ran off towards the city.

Forcing himself to his feet, Cloud limped over to Fenrir, retrieved two swords, connected them to make a larger one and then gave chase. Once upon a time he might've let it be someone else's problem, but he couldn't. If it killed someone he would never forgive himself. He had only recently understood just how precious the lives of loved ones were. But he needed help to stop that thing. Cloud quickly pulled out his cell as he ran.

"Vincent speaking."

"It's Cloud. Where are you?"

"I'm ten minutes away. Reeves already called me. Have you stopped it?"

"Kind of the other way around. Be careful, Vincent. It's far stronger than it looks. Threw me across the street like a new born chocobo. It's running along the rooftops of the Slums heading for Edge. I'm tracking it, but it has a head start on me."

"What's your exact location?" The former Turk asked coolly.

"Two miles east of the old highway, about three miles from the city."

"Understood. I'll try to be there in three minutes."

Thus they ended their conversation.

Tracking the creature wasn't hard. As Cloud leapt from roof to roof he saw that no matter where it would go, the creature seemed to have a habit of hitting everything that got in its way. At first newly broken glass and rocks lead the way, but Cloud made up fast ground and could now hear it. After a few minutes it was a couple of houses away. It was smashing its boney fist into anything it could, breaking everything it hit apart with tremendous force.

_Got's to be more carful! You're not going to muscle your way out of this one, Cloud. Be smart._

The monster caught the young man's scent off the wind and spun around to face him, mouth wide in a hideous snarl. It obviously was upset he wasn't dead. With straining muscles and creaking sinews, it jumped high in the air at Cloud, ready to finish him.

Cloud gritted his teeth in anticipation, his buster sword held ready. "Round two."

A/N: _What does this have to do with chapter one? Don't worry, it will make sense in time. Sorry it wasn't longer, but I had to rewrite this entire chapter after realizing my first draft was…pretty lame. When I write I literally imagine it as a movie. Therefore my action scenes are pretty explicit. Sorry if they are too long. However I won't have them leaping skyscrapers anytime soon. _

_Thank you for your patience, chap 3 will be up soon!_


	3. Chapter 3

A/N _Thanks for the reviews. Writing a story and worried about getting it right is very stressful. Constant worries about whether or not you will bore people stiff._

_Right off the bat I want to say that any idea that I have is never simple. I don't add stuff I don't need. It's either for character development or for plot deepening._

_Please give me your true feelings on whatever you like or don't._

Chapter 3

It was over.

As Cloud lazily steered his bike through the abandoned streets of Midgar, exhausted from the last violent hours of an otherwise normal day, his mind couldn't move past one simple, repeating thought. It was over.

The final confrontation with whatever Reno and Rude had found became messy quickly. Even with his sword Cloud was unable to defeat the creature. This time he had the upper hand, his skill with the blade allowing him to deflect any attack. But the giant sword could not cut through the monster's hide. He would've had more success with a large baseball bat. Whe Vincent arrived he tried shooting it in the eyes, it's only true vulnerable spot. But he never got a decent shot.

In the end it seemed that fate was the one who slayed it. Deep into the heat of the fight, after battling two opponents and holding it's own, the creature suddenly froze in midstrike and hit the ground dead. As the two men came in closer, confused as to what had just happened, a dark liquid dripping from it's mouth as it lay motionless, forming a balck pool around it's head.

"Maybe we beat it to death. Caused an internal bleeding or something." Cloud suggested.

"Maybe." The crimson clad man said with an icy tone.

"What should we do?"

"I'll stay until Reeves' team arrives." Valentine told him as he holstered Cerberus. "Go home."

Cloud was grateful, but soon realized that he had to first go back and find Fenrir, dig it out, check for damage, then drive to 7th heaven. It took about forty-five minutes to find his bike in the dim moonlight and to clear the rubble it was buried under. It had been a terrible last two hours, but it was over.

Once he arrive din Edge, the late traffic was busy, people looking for whatever night life they could find. Back when Midgar was flourishing people were out all the time. Some would even stay up all night long, if they felt secure enough in their jobs. Back then Cloud thought it was pretty cool to hang out at night with Barret, Jess, Wedge and Biggs. They were usually out to decide what their next target should be, but he usually was able to have fun anyways. That was, of course, a time when he felt confident enough to have fun, and back when he didn't know the truth about himself.

"Well…" He muttered to himself as vehicles and people bustled around him. "I know the truth now. Why not start having some fun again?"

It was a nice thought, but when he tried thinking about what to do, he couldn't come up with anything. Besides, doing it alone wasn't much fun. As Cloud gently rolled down the street which he lived on, he tried thinking about what he could do with Tifa and the kids. A theatre? A park maybe? There was none around here, but at the Gold Saucer there were plenty of rides and games. He and Aerith had lots of fun when they had gone out on a date that time, years back. They were bittersweet memories, to say the least. He could bring his family there and they could…

Cloud froze as he drove in behind his house, catching himself off guard. His **family**? Could he honestly call them that? Is that how he felt about them, about Marlene and Denzel? Did he care for them that much? And what about Tifa? Sometimes it all felt like a game of pretend, the kind the children play. One is the daddy, the other the mommy, and of course the kids. He had always felt that one day POOF! All would disappear. But it's been a while now, years actually. Was it still pretend?

"You know what?" He said softly to himself, a rare smile of his face. "It's time to find out."

With that thought in his head Cloud stepped off his motorcycle…and collapsed to the ground.

At first he couldn't understand what had happened. One moment he was fine, the next he didn't have the strength to get up off the ground. His left leg wouldn't move, not matter how much he tried. Cloud struggled to push himself up with his arms when a jolt of pain paralyzed him, falling back into the dust. That's when he understood. He remembered that the creature had hurt him, cutting him along the ribs down to the hip. He thought it had been a scratch, but feeling it now it dawned on him just how serious it was. Looking at Fenrir, Cloud could make out how wet looking the left side of the bike was. It was the blood he had lost during the drive without having realized it.

Pain or not, he had to get inside. Pain was a funny thing. Once your mind has moved past the confusion and the shock, it wasn't as hampering. Grunting loudly, Cloud fought to his feet for what felt like the hundredth time that day and hobbled over to the back door. It opened with a creak and groaned when he closed it.

"Gonna have to fix that." He thought, then chuckled out loud. "Probably better to fix myself first."

It was late, far later than he had realized. 10:30 showed on the clock. Everyone was in bed. He was now faced with the decision to wake everyone and start a commotion or patch up, sleep, and worry about it in the morning. Sure it bled had a lot, but it wasn't critical and it had stopped, mostly anyway.

Cloud decided not to make a big fuss about it. Taking off his shirt as gently as he could, Cloud went to the bar, painfully of course, and grabbed the strongest stuff he could find. Ten years old Whiskey would have to do as disinfectant. As far as bandages were concerned, they kept some in the washroom…upstairs. Cloud wasn't going to be climbing anything anytime soon. He'd tear up some of the cleaning rags, tie them around his wound, pour on the alcohol and sleep on the couch. In the morning he would-

'Click' went the lights.

"Cloud?"

He froze, looking up at a sleepy Tifa who was standing by the stairs, dressed for the night, looking at him standing at her bar without a shirt, a bottle of her best whiskey in one hand, torn rags in the other, and a long gash down his left side.

"Cloud!" She cried out, nearly leaping the distance between them in a heart beat. "What happened? There's blood everywhere! Are you alright? Cloud?"

He hesitated a moment before answering.

"H-honestly…" He gave her a weak grin. "I could use a drink."

The look she gave him made Cloud believe she was going to knock him behind the head. Tifa told him firmly to sit down as she went to get their first aid kit. Doing as he was told, Cloud looked on as she disappeared upstairs, feeling guilty. He had managed to do the exact opposite of what he had tried to do, again. Was there at least one thing he would not screw up in his life? One thing he could get done right without hurting anyone or getting them involved?

Tifa came back, and a few minutes later Cloud's wound was disinfected and dressed.

"How bad is the pain?" She asked with concern.

He was going to say 'alright', but they had fought together for a long time, ever since he joined avalanche. She would see right through him.

"It's bad."

She got angry almost immediately and demanded, "What stupid thing did you do now?"

"R-Reeves needed help. I helped him." Not the best of explanations.

"Help with what?"

"There was a creature on the loose. It could've hurt someone so I tried to stop it and it scratched me."

"Scratched? It almost split you in half!"

Cloud was too ashamed to argue. "I know. I…I'm sorry."

Oddly enough, his mild reply was like cold water on a fire, and Tifa calmed down almost immediately. Pulling up a chair next to him, she sat and looked at her childhood friend for a few minutes, not saying a word. Cloud didn't feel like talking either, so they sat in silence for a time.

Tifa broke that silence first.

"You said you were coming home early, that…everything was done for the day. Denzel and Marlene were going to surprise you with a cake they made this afternoon. We waited…and waited until…" Her eyes were reddening and her voice cracked. "I told them…that something had happened. Another delivery, or that you meet an old friend. Just anything so that they wouldn't feel like you…abandoned them again."

"Tifa…" Cloud said quickly. "I would never abandon them, or you. I mean, this was serious. Lives were on the line."

"I know. They know it too." Tifa took in a deep breath, which kept her from breaking down. "But Cloud, why didn't you call? When it was over, why didn't you let me know what happened? I hear you come in, and I get angry, thinking you neglected us, come down to give you the mother of all lectures and I see you hurt…hurt badly. I thought my heart was going to explode."

Cloud felt something drop deep inside himself. He had begun to think he was doing ok with Tifa and the kids. But now…he realized that even when he was home, he wasn't really home. He could see it on her face, and he knew it in his heart. Whenever he was here, he didn't spend much time with any of them. He thought that just being there, for them to see, that it would be enough. He wondered when was the last time he felt this rotten.

"I should leave." He said quietly.

"What?"

"I can't seem to do things right. I've tried to fix things up, but they didn't work out…did they?" He looked at her squarely. "Tifa, if by leaving I can make things better, I will. Just say it and I will go and never come back. I'll still support the kids, and you, but you guys can't rely on me, even though you've given me so many chances."

She stared for a moment, then shook her head, an insincere smile on her lips. "What, you think I want a divorce or something? 'Sorry Tifa, but see ya later.' Is that it? What, were you planning on this!!?"

"Hey, I just came back from fighting a monster that almost killed me to a girl that won't get off my case about not calling her enough! You know what I was thinking as I came in, ya know, before I found out I had surgery? That I would like-!"

He looked at her, realizing by her wide-eyed expression that he was shouting. He was standing up too, not feeling the pain in his side because of the adernaline. He hadn't gotten upset in years, not like this. Not since Sephiroth killed Arieth, the same anger he felt when that same man almost killed his childhood friend years before that. It wasn't an anger directed at Tifa, or the kids, or the petty argument. It was at himself.

"I would like a family. A real family…with you." He said the last past so low Tifa almost missed it.

Tifa continued to stare, stunned at everything he had said. Her gaze then fell at the white bandages that were wrapped around his middle, now stained red. She rose up, pressing against the wound to try and stop the fresh bleeding.

"You tore it open." She whispered.

"I deserve worse." He muttered, sitting back down again, acutely aware of every pain.

She got more bandages, and once again patched him up. Cloud remained quiet, meditating on what he had just said, things he realized that he wanted to say for quite some time now. It felt good, but wretched all at the same time. When Tifa was done she didn't go back to her seat. She wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head against his, their hair almost in perfect contrast. Then Cloud slipped his arm around her and held her tightly.

"We'll always be your family, Cloud. We love you." She said softly.

"I love you." He replied, closing his eyes with fatigue, her warmth giving him comfort. "I'll never leave."

"Promise?"

"…It's a promise."

So they stayed, holding each other tenderly, unaware that two little children that had been awakened by the ordeal had sneaked out of bed, went near the stairs, having seen and heard everything. The young boy and girl looked at each other, smiled, then went back to bed. Cloud promised to never leave them, and that made them very happy.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Denzel stood at the threshold of Midgar, overlooking the ruined city that had once been proud and full of life. If there was one thing that he had learned through all the tough times he had seen in his life was that nothing ever lasted. He had had two families, his real one and his adoptive one; both of them had been torn apart. His friends had either died or left his life, even his dear wife, Marlene. The only sure thing he had come to rely on was that he would always be alone.

The cliff he stood on was one he knew well. Growing up he had often come to this spot, the same spot where his "hero" would spend a lot of time. Denzel had believed the man he had looked up to all his childhood would come to this spot to think about serious things and meditate on problems and how to solve them. But as he grew up the truth struck home. Cloud Strife would only come to this spot to mope and feel sorry for himself.

Nearby, not ten feet from where he was stood the sword Cloud had erected a shrine to a dead friend. It was beginning to rust, exposed to the elements for days on end. A cynical smile spread across the man's bearded face as he looked at it.

"You died for the wrong man, Zack Fair. You should've saved yourself, and done us all a favour."

He stepped closer until the sword was within reach. With one hand Denzel grabbed the hilt and wrenched it out of the earth, holding it high above his head. Despite the shape it was in, the buster sword gleamed bright in the moonlight, the wind whistling along its still sharp edges. Denzel couldn't help but to stare at it admiringly.

"This sword has taken many lives, and protected one that should've never tasted the breath of existence. Come, my dear friend, my true companion, and together let us remove from our lives the one that caused myself, Marlene, and Tifa so much sorrow and agony."

Attaching the large blade to his back, Denzel began on foot the long trek to Edge.

_A/N Yes, I am a CoTi beleiver. I should've warned about the fluff._

_Thank you for reading and reviewing. I plan on having ten chapters total, and a lot longer chapters too. I'm working on several more as we speak, mostly crossovers and comedies. But I think serious stories are good every now and then._

_Later!_


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